This invention relates to the manufacture of bean curd and more particularly, bean curd of the so-called "cotton-strained" type.
There are generally two kinds of tofu (Japanese) or bean curd, namely, silk-strained and cotton-strained. Silk-strained bean curd has a fine or dense and homogeneous structure. In order to make this bean curd, soybean milk is produced in a known manner and a coagulant is admixed into the soybean milk in a known ratio thereto. The admixture is placed into small boxes or cups and the boxes are closed by a cup sealing machine. The boxes are then heated, whereby a cake of bean curd having a fine, homogeneous structure is made in each box. Such silk-strained bean curd can be mechanically manufactured and lends itself to a high degree of mass-production.
Cotton-strained bean curd has a coarse structure and is usually made as follows. A coagulant is admixed in a known ratio into a large quantity of soybean milk prepared in a known manner, so that a mass of coagulated soybean milk is produced. The mass is crushed into a great many small lumps, and these small lumps are transferred into a large wooden box in which they are pressed together. Upon application of pressure to the lumps of coagulated soybean milk, coagulant solution is squeezed out of the lumps and they are bonded with one another to form a large piece of bean curd. This bean curd is cut by a knife into smaller pieces or cakes and these cakes are put into small boxes one by one so carefully that they are not broken. Each box is filled with water to keep a cake of bean curd in a floating condition. The boxes are then closed and shipped for sale. The cotton-strained bean curd has an excellent permeability to soy or the like because of its coarse structure when it is eaten, for example, in an iced condition. It is also delicious when cooked, because of its excellent permeability to seasoning.